1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus being connectable to a printing apparatus and an information processing apparatus, and control method thereof, and a computer program.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printing apparatus has a command interface as a unique drawing language system such as a PDL (Page Description Language) or the like. This is to avoid the printing apparatus from relying on a specific information processing apparatus, an operating system (to be abbreviated as OS hereinafter) which runs on the information processing apparatus, or applications which run on the OS.
The command interface as the drawing language system depends on each individual printing apparatus. Hence, in order to encapsulate the dependence, the OS defines a printer driver as a module which has a standard drawing interface as an input, and converts the input into commands of the drawing language system depending on the printing apparatus and outputs the converted commands.
Such printer drivers are generally prepared by the manufacturers of printing apparatuses, OS developers, and the like, and are often pre-stored in the information processing apparatus. Since there are many printer drivers stored in the information processing apparatus, presentation of all these printer drivers to the user is potentially confusing.
Hence, it is desirable to efficiently connect printing apparatuses that the user uses to a communication path, and to set them to be usable by the user. For this reason, in an initial state of the OS, the printer drivers are merely stored in the information processing apparatuses, and the user installs a printer driver in the OS as an operation for linking that printer driver to a specific printing apparatus.
Conventionally, the user manually performs this installation operation. However, installing a printer driver is generally troublesome. When commands of a different drawing language system are transmitted to a printing apparatus which does not support the drawing language system, a print error occurs. Therefore, a printer driver corresponding to each printing apparatus must be correctly installed, and it is difficult for the beginner to carry out such operation.
In order to reduce the load on such troublesome installation operation, a plug-and-play (PnP) function is implemented in the OS. With this function, by directly connecting the information processing apparatus to a printing apparatus using a communication medium such as Centronics, USB, or the like, the information processing apparatus and printing apparatus automatically make two-way communications without any user's operations. Then, a driver corresponding to the printing apparatus is installed in the information processing apparatus.
Furthermore, a technique called universal plug-and-play (UPnP) is also implemented. With this technique, even when the information processing apparatus is connected to many unspecified printing apparatuses via a network, it searches for printing apparatuses on the network and automatically makes two-way communications with a printing apparatus designated by the user. Then, a driver corresponding to that printing apparatus is installed in the information processing apparatus.
Of the above PnP function, a physical connection is premised on a direct connection using a communication medium between the information processing apparatus and printing apparatus. For this reason, the information processing apparatus can easily specify the printing apparatus, but the distance from the information processing apparatus to the printing apparatus is limited to fall within a maximum transfer distance range of the communication medium used. That is, the degree of freedom in setting is restricted by the physical length of the connecting cable or the like used to connect these apparatuses, and the physical setting of the cable itself is also troublesome.
In case of the UPnP function via network connection, it is difficult to easily match the search result of printing apparatuses on the network with the physical setting location of each printing apparatus. When the information processing apparatus does not join the network, it requires a connection setting to the network for only use of the printing apparatus, resulting in cumbersome operations.
In order to reduce the load on the installation operation of a printer driver or to reduce the load on the connection setting operation to the network, print data may be stored in a portable storage medium (e.g., a USB memory) and may be printed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-244314). With this method, a printer driver need not be installed in the information processing apparatus, and no network setting is required. Unlike connection between the information processing apparatus and printing apparatus via a physical cable, the degree of freedom in the setting locations between these apparatuses is not diminished.
However, with the aforementioned prior art, data which is created in a general-purpose format that can be stored in a storage medium is stored in the storage medium. Hence, for example, functions unique to each individual printing apparatus such as a double-sided print setting, staple processing instruction, and the like cannot be sufficiently used. Also, data once stored in the storage medium can be printed out using every printing apparatus. For example, in an environment in which usable printing apparatuses are restricted for each user, it is difficult to manage the use authorities.
Therefore, the present invention has as its object to solve the problems of a printing system which executes print processing by storing data generated by an information processing apparatus in a storage medium, and connecting the storage medium to a printing apparatus. More specifically, the present invention allows such printing system to sufficiently use the functions of each printing apparatus and to manage the use authorities of printing apparatuses.